


Unmasked

by schwoopyboop



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Desk Sex, Dirty Talk, Dom/sub, F/M, Feelings, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Smut, Grief/Mourning, Hyperion, Jack Needs a Hug, Kissing, Mask reveal, Original Character(s), Pet Names, Reader-Insert, Romance, Scars, Unhealthy Relationships, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unsafe Sex, but like reallyyyyy light
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:48:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26555374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schwoopyboop/pseuds/schwoopyboop
Summary: " “Why do you wear it?”Jack hadn’t turned around to face me. “Because if I didn’t, you wouldn’t want me anymore.” He said it without inflection, like it was just a fact.I slid off the desk so I could walk towards him, even if he had turned his back on me. He was standing normally, but his shoulders were tense, and his fists were balled up at his sides.“Do you really think so little of me?” "The story of how Ella, a lowly Hyperion researcher, got to see what's under Handsome Jack's mask. Takes place during BL2, and is sort of a prequel to my other work, In Another Life.
Relationships: Fiona/Rhys (Borderlands), Handsome Jack (Borderlands)/Original Character(s), Handsome Jack (Borderlands)/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Some background info on this story:  
> \- Jack and Ella have a semi-established relationship in this fic  
> \- This version of Ella is younger, more naïve, and less willing to question Jack because she hasn’t fully developed her empathy at this point in time – I like to think she reconsiders her values after witnessing Jack’s death and the mistakes that led up to it
> 
> Also, I will likely be writing Jack and Ella’s story as a series of vignettes (probably not in chronological order) leading up to the events of In Another Life – I basically just have a bunch of ideas on what they would get up to together, but no actual cohesive storyline lul.
> 
> Finally, there is a wee bit of smut near the end because apparently that’s just where this story went ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Hope you guys enjoy!

After a long day of Eridium experiments, I made my way up to Jack’s office with my latest big discovery. Of all my projects, I was the most excited about the implications of this one—Jack was going to love the things we were going to do with it.

Approaching the office doors after making the trek down Jack’s ridiculously long hallway, I waited for the doors to automatically open when my DNA signature was detected. To my surprise, they did not.

Hesitantly, I knocked on the door.

“Jack? Is your door broken? It won’t open,” I said into the metal.

I heard a hurried series of footsteps and shuffling before Jack answered, a little too quickly.

“Ells! Uh-yeah, I’ll be there in just a sec, 'kay pumpkin?” He sounded far away.

“Okay,” I called back through the door, doing my best to hide the confusion in my voice. I’d never heard him caught off guard before.

A few seconds later, the sliding doors opened to reveal a grinning Handsome Jack, with all his usual bravado. There was no trace of the hurried panic he'd had in his voice just moments before, only there was something off about his face—I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Before I could figure out what was different, though, Jack held his arms open for me.

“What, no hug for the big guy?” he asked, faking a pout.

I rolled my eyes and made to walk past him, but Jack caught me easily in his arms anyway.

“You know, I don’t think we’re supposed to be doing stuff like this at work,” I said as he leaned in for a kiss.

Jack gave me a quick peck on the lips before answering. “I don’t think your boss will mind,” he said, winking.

I laughed, disentangling myself from his arms to show him the file I was holding. It was emblazoned with a big red CONFIDENTIAL stamp across the front, which immediately got his attention.

“Guess who discovered what unrefined slag does to your blood?” I asked in a singsong voice, walking slowly backwards towards Jack’s desk so I could flaunt the file the whole way there.

Jack’s expression turned from curious to downright predatory as he followed me. “Now, sweetheart, I know you’re going to leave that file on my desk like a good girl,” he said threateningly.

I raised an eyebrow at his tone. _Two can play at that game._

I reached his desk and lifted myself up to sit on it, crossing my legs so he could see my pencil skirt rise up my thighs. For added effect, I fanned myself with his precious file.

“What’s the magic word?” I asked as he slowly closed the distance between us.

“Uh, 'give me my file’?” Jack said, already annoyed with the roleplay. He looked like an impatient child.

I laughed. “Well, since you asked so nicely,” I said, pressing the file into his chest as he came to stand in front of me.

He immediately started thumbing through it like a child going through presents on Mercenary Day.

“Ells, this is so cool! Slag affects the types of _cells_ in your blood? Like, we can mess with genetics and stuff?” Jack looked up at me, eyes bright with excitement.

I chuckled. “I don’t think we’re at the level of genetic modification just yet. We only know that being exposed to unrefined slag reduces the number of platelets in your blood, making you bleed out for longer since your blood doesn’t clot nearly as quickly, which means the bandits will take more damage over time, if we can just figure out a way to infuse our bullets with the slag without changing too much of its fundamental chemical makeup—,” I stopped when I noticed Jack staring at me with an odd expression on his face.

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “I really geeked out there, huh?”

Jack’s eyes were still on me. “You’re adorable,” he said simply.

I blinked. “I’m-what?”

“When you talk about all that nerd shit that you’re into. You get all happy and excited—it’s cute,” he explained, shrugging.

I felt a blush coming on. “Only you would find talk about platelets and bleeding bandits cute,” I said, shaking my head.

“C’mon, you know I can’t resist a little murder spree every now and then,” he said, nudging me with his elbow.

I laughed. “Well, you _are_ pretty sexy when you get bloodthirsty,” I replied, only half-joking.

Jack raised an eyebrow and took a step closer, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

“Oh, princess,” he said, his hand moving to my hair. “Just you wait until I get my hands on The Warrior. Those bandits are gonna _drown_ in their own blood.”

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love it when his dominant side came out. I let him pull my hair back until my face was tilted towards his, forcing me to look at him.

“I can’t wait,” I replied, holding his gaze with a conspiratorial smile.

I could almost see blue and green flames dancing behind Jack’s mismatched eyes: the only sign of the wild, angry joy that always bubbled just below the surface. There was an unadulterated rage behind his carefully cultivated facade, one that I knew could make him lash out at any moment. I loved that I was the only one who could turn that rage into a hunger, and judging from the way he looked at me now—like a man starving for something only I could give him—I knew that I had done exactly that.

“God, you are so fucking gorgeous,” he breathed before crushing his lips to mine.

Throwing the file onto the floor, he pushed his tongue into my mouth, forcing my lips apart as he balled a first in my hair, holding me close. I responded in kind, sucking at his tongue and wrapping my legs around his waist to pull his body closer. His hands found the hem of my skirt, pushing it up over my thighs.

“Jack…” I pulled away as his hands continued roaming upwards, undoing my blouse's buttons as they went.

Jack just moved his lips to my neck, sucking hard enough to leave a mark. I tried (not entirely successfully) to suppress the noise rising in my throat. I could feel Jack smile into my skin, the smug bastard.

“Aw, don’t get all shy on me now, pumpkin,” he said, kissing over the hickeys he’d already made. “I wanna hear you sing for me.” His voice was low near my ear, almost making me shiver.

 _God, why did he have to say it like that?_ It should be illegal to be this distractingly attractive. Especially when I had only come up here to tell him about the new research; I was already behind on work.

“Jack, we can’t do this here. I have to be back soon,” I said unconvincingly, watching him kiss down my collarbone towards my chest while doing nothing to stop him.

Jack stood back up so he was eye-level with me again. “And I remember telling _you_ , cupcake, that your boss—that’s me, by the way—doesn’t mind,” he said with an eyebrow raised.

I smiled and moved to brush one of his wavy locks out of his face. “I know _you_ don’t mind, but I have a ton of projects to manage and—” I stopped when my fingers brushed against something hard and cold near his forehead. This close, I could see what was off about his face before. One of the clasps of his mask was undone, and the corner had started to peel off, revealing a patch of rough skin—almost like he had been burned.

Jack noticed the change in my expression.

“Ells, what’s wrong?” he asked, reaching up to where my hand had been. When he felt the open clasp, his face darkened.

“Oh,” was all he said.

“I’m sorry!” I said quickly, moving my hand away. “I didn’t notice it until now. I didn’t see anything, I swear.”

Jack turned away, fiddling with the clasp. “It’s not your fault. I had it off when you knocked earlier—must’ve missed it when I was putting it back on.” There was a small click as Jack fixed the clasp back in place.

“Why do you wear it?”

Jack hadn’t turned around to face me. “Because if I didn’t, you wouldn’t want me anymore.” He said it without inflection, like it was just a fact.

I slid off the desk so I could walk towards him, even if he had turned his back on me. He was standing normally, but his shoulders were tense, and his fists were balled up at his sides.

“Do you really think so little of me?”

Crossing his arms, Jack turned to face me. “It’s not you that I don’t trust,” he said.

I was surprised. “What reason could you possibly have not to trust yourself? You took this company and built it back from the ground up, you’re working on opening a vault, you’re providing _tons_ of jobs—”

Jack threw his arms up in frustration. “I’m not—I wasn’t talking about all of that stuff—I’m _good_ at that stuff—I just don’t know how to do _this_ , ya know?” He gestured towards the space between us. “I don’t know how to keep you from leaving me.”

“Jack…” I reached out to take his hands. “I'm not going anywhere.”

“You would if you saw my face,” he said, looking anywhere but at me.

I sighed. “No, I wouldn’t—and you know what? I’ll prove it.” I placed my hands gently on either side of his face and forced him to look at me.

“Show me.”

Jack put his hands over mine, suddenly looking far older than he actually was. “You won’t like what you see,” he warned.

I stroked my thumb across his cheek. “Let me decide that for myself,” I told him.

Jack said nothing, but his face told me I had won. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and undid the metal clasps on his forehead first, and then his chin.

Eyes still closed, he spoke quietly. “Will you help me take it off?”

I smiled, even though he couldn’t see it. “Of course.”

Slowly, with his hands over mine, we lifted the mask off his face together. I saw his green eye flicker out, and there was a _whoosh_ as the air filled the vacuum between his skin and the plastic. He let go of the mask, and I set it down gently on his desk before turning to him.

When I turned to face him, I had to bite down on my lip to hold back a gasp. There was a vivid blue vault symbol seared into his flesh, missing his left eye but going straight through his right one. Even though he must have gotten it years ago, it looked like it still hadn’t completely healed, and the skin surrounding it was rough and cracked. It looked painful.

Jack’s eyes were still closed as he shuffled his weight impatiently. “Well? Say something, dammit.”

I let out a choked laugh. “I’ve seen worse,” I managed to get out in a somewhat steady voice.

He opened his eyes. “Liar.”

His right eye, the one that was usually green, was white.

“But I’m still here,” I said, pulling him closer. “Can I…touch it? It doesn’t hurt, does it?”

He shook his head. “No, it doesn’t hurt anymore. You can touch it if you want.” He eyed me carefully for my response.

I slowly traced the edges of the vault symbol with my fingertips. The skin was bumpy, but it was surprisingly soft. When I got to his eye, I stroked over his eyelid lightly with my thumb.

“What a shame,” I murmured. “I always liked your green eye.”

Jack barked out a small, bitter laugh. “Yeah, me too. It’s the little things you miss, like depth perception.”

I laughed. “Well, at least you got a sexy scar out of it,” I joked, tracing the blue skin down to his mouth.

He snorted. “Yeah, right. Totally worth it.”

Just to prove him wrong, I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him fully on the mouth, scar and all. His real lips were soft and warm, not like the cool, too-smooth material of his mask. I felt his body tense up in surprise, but then he picked my legs up from under me with a renewed enthusiasm. I let out a surprised squeal as I wrapped my arms around his neck for balance. Still kissing, he walked us over to his chair and sat down, so that I was straddling him.

When we finally pulled away, he was grinning. “Okay, maybe that _was_ worth it.”

I smirked at him. “I told you I wouldn’t leave,” I said.

“If you did, I’d have to kill you,” he said casually. I couldn’t tell if he was joking.

I decided it didn’t matter and rolled my eyes. “I think I’d prefer getting _little_ deaths from you, if that’s alright.” I wiggled my butt against the growing bulge in his pants.

Jack narrowed his eyes at me, the luminous blue scar making him look even more menacing. “You know what you’re getting into there, kitten?” He asked dangerously.

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Why don’t you show me?”

That was all Jack needed to stand up and bend me over his desk in one fluid motion. He tugged my skirt up, exposing my ass, and slid my panties to the side so that he could plunge two fingers into my soaking wet slit. I gasped at the contact as he started moving his fingers slowly in and out of me.

“You're already so wet for me, princess,” he purred into my ear, making my face turn scarlet. I could hear him fumbling around with his other hand, undoing his belt.

“J-Jack…” My voice came out breathless and strained as he slid his fingers out to play with my clit instead.

“Yes, kitten?” He sounded so smug.

“I want you…inside,” I whined, reaching back so I could touch him.

Jack easily caught my arm and pinned it to the desk above me. “Now, now Ells, I know you know how to ask nicer than that,” he said, planting a series of soft, slow kisses down the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

I turned my head so I could look at him. He didn’t seem self-conscious of his scar anymore; if anything, the scar made him look invicible, fearless, like he could devour worlds. His eyes were like wildfires, burning a hole straight through me, the luminous blue scar making it seem like his skin was glowing. There was an insatiable hunger even in his white eye that made it clear how dangerous he could be—and that made me want him all the more.

“Fuck me,” I breathed, without looking away. “Please,” I added, when he raised an eyebrow at me.

He grinned back at me, all teeth. “Gladly,” he replied, and I felt his hard, thick head pushing into me, only stopping when he bottomed out.

We both let out a huff of air as he stopped moving to let me adjust to his size. My fingers gripped the edge of the table as I tried to regulate my breathing—I’d forgotten how big he was.

“Goddamn, kitten,” Jack groaned as he leaned over to bury his face in my neck. “You’re so _tight_.”

I let out a breathy laugh. “Not too bad yourself,” I replied.

He took his face out of my neck to give me a scandalized look. “ _‘Not too bad'_?” he quoted incredulously. His expression turned dangerous. “Oh, honey, I’m gonna make you _scream_.”

And with that, he slid his cock almost all the way out and then slammed it back into me, setting a brutal pace. Letting out a surprised gasp, I gripped the edge of the desk even harder as he began to pound into me. His rough thrusts shook my body along with the desk, pulling sounds out of my throat that I never thought I would make in a CEO's office. The sharp edge of the desk pressed into my stomach with every thrust, sure to leave a bruise, but I found it hard to focus on anything when Jack suddenly started circling my clit with his free hand.

“Oh, god-Jack,” I gasped, arching my back so he could go deeper.

He groaned, thrusting harder and faster as he chased his own release. “That’s it, princess. Come with me, baby.” His fingers quickened at my increasingly sensitive clit, and I felt a familiar coil of energy in my core about to burst.

“Jack-Jack, I’m gonna—” Words escaped me as I fell apart beneath him, quivering as the waves of pleasure washed over me with each of his thrusts.

“God, Ells, me too,” Jack groaned as he gave a few final deep thrusts. I felt him grow even bigger before he finally released, and something warm and wet pooled inside me.

Still inside me, Jack leaned over to cover my body with his. He gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek that was comically at odds with our current position.

“Damn, Ells,” he said, sighing contentedly. “You should tell me about platelets more often.”

I let out a laugh that turned into a soft moan when I felt Jack slide himself out of me, brushing against my sensitive inner walls.

“If we did this more often, I wouldn't get any research done to show you,” I teased.

“Pfft, details,” Jack replied dismissively as he nestled his face into the curve of my shoulder. The feeling of his bare cheek against my skin was an unfamiliar but welcome touch.

For a moment, we both lay there, catching our breath. Eventually, he pulled our bodies off the desk and sat us back down into his chair, where I cuddled against his chest.

“You know,” I said after a while. “I think I might prefer you with your mask off.”

Jack propped himself up on an elbow, giving me a look. “No, you don’t.”

“I mean it,” I insisted, brushing the back of my hand against his scarred cheek. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide yourself from me. But this way, I can see you.”

He looked down, speechless for once. “I don’t deserve you,” he finally said.

“That’s true,” I said, laughing when he looked up, offended. “But I think I’ll keep you anyway.”

“You’d better,” he grumbled.

I kissed his nose and stood up before he could complain, buttoning my shirt and pulling my skirt back down.

“Now, the sex, on the other hand,” I said, making my way down his office stairs. “Needs work.” I raised an advisory finger at him as I started running toward the door.

His jaw dropped. “Why, you little—” he growled and jumped up from his seat to chase me around his office before I could escape. He eventually managed to tackle me down onto the sofa, the both of us laughing as we fell.

I guess there was no harm in taking the rest of the day off. And after all, I thought as Jack started trailing hungry kisses down my stomach, my boss _really_ didn’t seem to mind.


	2. You Don't Know Jack (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during TFTBL, when Rhys notices the picture of Angel on Jack's desk; only this time, Ella is there to break the bad news to Jack that his daughter is dead. Feelings, angst, and a tiny bit of romance follow.

"Rhys, can you focus? We are looking for Gortys' upgrade, not taking a grand office tour." I shot him an annoyed look as he picked up and put down yet another piece of Handsome Jack memorabilia.

"What, I've never been in here before! This is the stuff of legend, Elle!" He lifted a red and black shotgun off the shelf and posed with it, looking ridiculous. I rolled my eyes and continued rifling through Jack's cabinets.

Jack himself was not helping.

"Oh-ho, nice choice, Rhysie! Now that shotgun is legend-friggin'- _dary_. Hyperion named it the Conference Call cause you're gonna wanna tell everyone how awesome it is...and then you kill 'em." Jack put his hands on his hips, grinning proudly.

Rhys chuckled. "Nice," he said, putting the gun back on the wall. 

"Would you two idiots stop fucking around and help me?" I called from the other side of the room, elbow-deep in top-secret Hyperion files—but no Gortys upgrade.

"Coming!" Rhys yelled. 

As he walked across the room to heed my call, Rhys stopped at a picture on Jack's desk. "Aw, who's this little cutie?"

My body froze, my eyes immediately shooting to Jack's tense blue form, waiting for him to explode or stick a finger into Rhys' cybernetic implant for even noticing the picture. Instead, Jack just walked over to the picture and looked at it with Rhys.

"Uhh, yeah, that's...my Angel," he said, sounding somehow hesitant and proud at the same time. "I usually don't like people knowing about her, but you and I are pretty tight, so...yeah."

"She's adorable," Rhys offered, looking surprised that he even got this far into the conversation without being yelled at or insulted.

Jack had a faraway look in his eye. "You know, I was thinking...after we're done with all this vault stuff, I'd like to check up on her, if that's cool."

I whipped my head around to stare at him, wide-eyed. Did he...not remember?

Jack noticed me gaping and raised an eyebrow at me. "What, a guy can't visit his daughter without getting weird looks?"

Without looking away from Jack, I spoke to Rhys. "Hey, Rhys, could you give us a minute?"

Eager to escape the tense atmosphere, he eagerly scurried down the stairs towards the exit. "Yup, sure thing, noo problem at all—in fact, take your _time_ , I'll just be...out over here yonder..." He gestured vaguely to the area outside the office as he closed the doors behind him.

Jack was still giving me a funny look. "You wanna fill me in on what's going on here, Ells?"

I swallowed, hard. "You can't check up on Angel," I said.

"Why, is she not on Pandora? She's not on Helios, is she?" Jack started looking around as if she could pop out from a corner at any second.

"Jack...I don't know how to tell you this."

His voice turned steely. "Tell me what, exactly?"

I couldn't look at his face. "Angel, she... she's dead."

Jack narrowed his eyes at me, his virtual blue body flickering with rage. "Was that a _threat,_ pumpkin? Because you're in for a world of hurt if you think for a _second_ you're gonna lay a hand on my Ange–"

"She's dead, Jack! She killed herself," I blurted out, unable to stand it any longer.

Jack blinked once, then rapidly. "No," he said, letting out a choked laugh. "Nononono, sweetheart, my Angel wouldn't do that. Not when she has me to protect her." He started pacing back and forth around the office, shaking his head at no one in particular.

"She didn't want to charge the vault key anymore," I said hesitantly. "She...got together a bunch of Vault Hunters to stop you from opening the vault. She told them to kill her, at the bunker."

Jack stopped pacing to look at me, gauging my expression. 

"And they did it," he said. It wasn't a question.

"You begged them to stop," I said quietly, looking down at my feet. "You begged her, too."

For a long moment, Jack didn't say anything. He just stood there with his hands on his hips, working his jaw, looking like he wanted to throw something.

"Damn that kid," he yelled suddenly. "She was always too smart for her own good." 

The lights flickered as he punched a glowing blue fist into a light switch. When his hand went right through the wall, Jack let out an angry scream of frustration. I winced.

"I'm sorry," I said pathetically. It felt empty, useless, insufficient, but I didn't know what else to say.

Jack didn't even seem to hear me. "I still want to go to the bunker," he said finally.

"But Angel's not there," I started to say.

"I know," Jack snapped. "I just—" He took a breath, calming himself a little. "I want to see it, okay? I need to see where she was." He looked at me with wide, desperate eyes, and as much as he tried to hide it, I saw a man drowning in grief.

I nodded, trying to keep my expression neutral. "Okay," I said. "Let's go."


	3. You Don't Know Jack (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Ella visit the bunker to see where Angel died.

The bunker was a sad, overgrown tangle of creeping vines and broken machinery. Remnants of old loader bots and constructor turrets lay scattered across the ground, slowly being reclaimed by the leafy green tendrils that reached out from the earth. For some, the only clue that they were ever once a part of something bigger was the ghost of a Hyperion logo on their empty metal shells, the chipped black paint still visible against a faded yellow background. 

Somehow, a tree has managed to grow at the top of the structure, where the waterfall used to be. Its branches were long, and its leaves looked healthy even as they were starting to turn orange and yellow for the coming autumn. The tree's twisted branches stretched far into the fading dusk, as if it thought that if they reached high enough, it could keep the sun itself from dipping below the horizon.

It reminded me of Jack.

The ECHO on my hip beeped, signalling a call from Rhys, who sounded very excited. "Hey, Ella, we got our hands on Gortys' new upgrade, so all we gotta do is find us a vault, baby! Fiona and Sasha are coming back from recon now. When do you think you'll be back?"

I had to smile at his eager tone. "I think we'll be a couple days, max. Keep us posted, 'kay?"

"Yes, ma'am." There was a brief pause, followed by Fiona's voice: "Rhys, did you just salute over a _voice_ call?"

"What— _no_ , I was—I gotta go, Ells, bye!" The call ended abruptly as Rhys hung up.

"That guy needs to step up his game if he wants Fiona to think he's anything but an idiot," Jack commented, nodding towards the ECHO.

I laughed. "I don't think that's ever going to happen," I said as I stepped out over an overgrown root onto the concrete arena.

"So," Jack walked up next to me. "This is where it all went down." His gaze followed mine to the tree. "I don't remember that being there."

I shrugged. "Me neither," I said. "I didn't think anything could grow here."

"At least something nice came out of this place," Jack mused.

"C'mon," I said, gesturing down the stairs with my head. "The elevator's this way." 

As I led us down the stairs, I heard Jack mutter under his breath.

"I know where the damn elevator is, I built this stupid place."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes as we reached the end of the stairs. "Jack, focus. Remember why we're here," I told him.

To his credit, he actually managed to look bashful. "Right, sorry. Deflecting," he said, pressing his lips together in a tight smile.

We didn't say anything else as we made the somber walk to the elevator, stepping over dead branches and fallen turrets as we went. When we got to the bio-scanner that activated the elevator, I frowned. In terms of functionality, it didn't look hopeful.

Jack apparently didn't share my concern. He walked up like he owned the place (I guess technically, he still did), stepping right up to the rusted machinery and sticking a transparent blue finger into an exposed port.

To my genuine shock, a snide female voice sounded from the scanner. "Preparing bio-scan. Please stand on the Hyperion emblem."

Jack smirked at me as if to say "I told you so" as he stepped onto the Hyperion logo on the floor. There was a low humming as the scanner flickered to life, and the woman's voice continued: "Unable to detect bio-signature. Access denied."

His smirk promptly disappeared. "Why didn't that work—?" He started to ask before looking down at his decidedly non-biological body with a dawning realization. "Oh."

"'Oh,' indeed," I replied with a dry smile. "What do we do now?"

"Maybe you should try," he said, stepping back out of the sensors.

"Me? Why would it work for me?" 

Jack rubbed the back of his head in an uncharacteristically awkward gesture. "I, uh, might've given you clearance to access to all my stuff in the case of my death. Back when we were...you know." He gestured vaguely to the space between us.

I was incredulous. "Are you saying... I'm your next of kin?" 

He shrugged. "Yeah, well, it was supposed to include Angel, too, but ah—" His voice caught, but he quickly cleared his throat to hide it. "I guess she must've been gone by then. And so were you."

My heart dropped into my stomach.

"Jack..." I didn't know what to say.

Jack shifted uncomfortably under my gaze. "C'mon, Ells, don't look at me like that. Just get us into the damn place, will ya?"

I didn't think I could speak without my voice breaking, so I just nodded and stepped onto the faded Hyperion logo painted across the floor.

"Scanning bio-signature." I was suddenly enveloped in sheets of moving blue light. "Bio-signature confirmed. Hello, sexy. Awaiting password."

I glanced back at Jack for help. He never said anything about a password.

Stepping forward, Jack leaned over my shoulder to speak into the intercom.

"I love you."

I stared at him, shocked, as the mechanisms behind the doors whirred to life.

"Access granted," said the disembodied voice of the Hyperion lady, and the thick metal doors before us slid open.

"Your password is 'I love you?'" I asked, eyes wide with something that felt like pity, only I wasn't sure who I was feeling sorry for: Jack, Angel, or myself. I felt tears brimming in my eyes, but for some reason, they wouldn't fall.

"Thought I told you not to look at me like that," Jack replied quietly as he stepped into the elevator.

I followed him. "How could I not?" I said. "Every time I think I have you figured out, you go and do something like this."

"What can I say? I'm a complicated man," he said, trying to be flippant.

"It's exhausting," I said.

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment, you know."

"Then _somebody_ needs to work on their insults, sweetcheeks."

We both laughed at that, lapsing into a comfortable silence on the ride down to Angel's chambers. When the doors finally opened again, it was to reveal a large circular room, lit up with hues of violet, blue, and magenta. The purplish rays reflected off the shiny metallic surface of the walls and floors, making the empty glass chamber in the middle of the room seem even more ominous.

"So, this is where she was, huh?" Jack said, walking over to the center of the room. He held a hand up to the glass as if he were going to touch it, but then let his arm fall.

I watched him carefully, prepared for any reaction. "She was more on the floor, but... yeah. This is where she died."

Jack gazed into the empty glass chamber, his eyes glazed over with memories. 

"My baby girl..." he murmured, his voice breaking a little.

I didn't say anything; I just stood off to the side, far enough to give him space, but still close enough to let him know I was here for him. I'd left Jack to grieve Angel on his own the first time, but now, seeing how broken he was—I couldn't leave him alone.

"Did she say anything, at the end?" Jack asked suddenly.

I thought about how much I should say to him. "She called you 'dad,'" I said carefully, not wanting to overwhelm him with information until I knew he could handle it.

Jack looked mildly surprised. "Huh. Haven't been called that in a while. I almost wish I remembered that," he said with a nostalgic air.

"I mean, she also called you an asshole."

Jack let out a hard laugh. "That was her first swear word. She learned it from me." A small, sad smile appeared on his face. "Atta girl."

He sat down on the floor near the steps that led up to the glass chamber. I sat next to him, wishing I could reach over and squeeze his hands the way I used to when he was tired or stressed.

"Hey, Ells?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you leave Hyperion?"

"What?" I hadn't been expecting that.

"Why did you leave?" He repeated, more insistent this time.

"Jack, I don't think this is the right place for that," I said hesitantly, looking around the big empty room.

He gave me a look. "Who's deflecting now, pumpkin?"

I sighed. "What do you want me to say, Jack? That I left because of you? That I left because Angel died? Because the man I thought I knew died with her?" I snapped at him, the words spilling out faster than I could stop them. Looking down at the floor, I bit down on my lip to keep myself from saying anything else. I'd already told him too much.

A brief pause. "Is that...true?" Jack asked, looking genuinely curious.

I scoffed at him. "Like you need the ego boost," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well, I wouldn't say no to one," he said, winking.

I almost laughed, exhaling through my nose a little before sobering up. "When Angel died, you...you didn't take it very well. You were furious and determined and aggressively, violently self-destructive. You wouldn't listen to anyone about anything, and everything you wanted had to get done at all costs—we even fought because you wouldn't take time off to grieve," I said, pausing at the bittersweet memory. "It was like you were trying to punish yourself for getting her killed, and at the same time punishing everyone else for letting you get away with it. And I wasn't about to stand around watching you kill yourself, so...I left."

Jack whistled. "Wow, Ells. That's, uh...that's a lot."

"Hey, you asked for it."

"Yeah, I guess I did deserve that," he admitted. After a beat, he said, "You did the right thing, leaving."

I raised an eyebrow at him, surprised he would feel that way. "You think so?"

'Yeah," he said casually. "Saved yourself. I can't fault you for that."

I cracked a smile. "I think the old you did," I told him.

He smiled back. "Yeah, well, maybe it's time I learned my lesson about letting you go," he said, his eyes boring into me with an emotion I couldn't name.

I looked back at him, my mouth slightly agape with surprise. His eyes darted down to my parted lips for a second before moving back up to meet my face.

"I really wish I could kiss you right now," he admitted quietly, leaning almost imperceptibly closer. For a fraction of a moment, I almost leaned in, too.

I blinked, snapping myself out of it. "It's, uh, probably for the best that you can't, then," I said, clearing my throat. I stood up, probably a little too quickly, and brushed the dust off my clothes. "We should get going. It'll be dark soon."

If Jack thought anything of my abrupt response, he didn't show it. 

"Lead the way, cupcake."

We exited the chamber in silence, save for my footsteps echoing throughout the bunker's empty walkways. When we got outside, I started heading towards the fast travel station

"Ells, wait," Jack said, suddenly appearing in front of me.

I stopped in my tracks. "What?" I asked, a little annoyed that he'd startled me.

"Can we—stay here? Just for a little longer?" He reminded me of a child asking for permission.

My expression softened. "Sure," I replied. I looked around for something to do. "Do you wanna...go look at the tree?" There really wasn't much around except for dead robots.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Jack said, sounding relieved.

As we made our way up to the top level of the bunker, I debated internally on whether or not I should say anything about his request. By the time we passed under the tree's shady branches, my curiosity had won over my tact.

"Are you okay, Jack?"

He grinned over at me, full of his usual charm. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be, cupcake?"

I bit my lip. "Well, because we're standing in the place your daughter died, and...you asked me to stay. Which isn't like you."

He sighed, dropping the act. "I guess... I'm just not ready to leave her yet," he said, walking up the to tree trunk and placing a hand on its rough surface.

Following the line of his arm, my eyes caught something carved into the bark. Just under the lowest branch, there was a faint outline of 2 feathery, vaguely triangular shapes. Moving closer, I could see that they were carved intentionally; they almost looked like the wings of—well, of an angel.

Jack saw the drawing at the same time that I did, and I could tell from the look in his eye that we had both come to the same conclusion.

I was the first one who spoke. "Jack, I think...you planted this tree for Angel."

He hadn't taken his eyes off the carving. "You might be right, kiddo."

I moved to stand closer to him. "We can stay here as long as you need to," I told him.

Jack nodded silently, brushing his thumb over the exposed wood. His eyes were far away—lost in far-away memories that I couldn't reach.

We stood there for a long time, past the sunset and into a clear, moonless night. We leaned against the tree and watched as the stars started to appear, one by one, against the inky black sky. Secretly, I picked out a star whose light flared out at its sides in a feathery glow, and wondered if it could see how far her father had come, and how far he had to go still. 


End file.
